Top Western-backed rebel commander denies reports of fleeing Syria

The top Western-backed commander of the opposition forces in Syria, General Salim Idris, has denied US claims that he was run out of the country by Islamist militants.

On Wednesday, US officials told the Wall Street Journal that Gen.
Idris was forced to flee the war-torn country. On the same day,
the US and Britain announced that they were freezing non-lethal
aid to the opposition after radical militants from the Islamic
Front took control of the Free Syrian Army’s bases in northern
Syria.

Gen. Idris fled to Doha, Qatar on Sunday after leaving Syria for
Turkey “as a result of the Islamic Front taking over his
headquarters," a senior US official said.

However, on Thursday, the Syrian National Coalition’s (SNC)
official spokesman dismissed those claims as
“laughable,” saying the commander is currently holding
talks with the Islamic Front.

"General Selim Idriss is in the south of Turkey on the border
of Turkey and Syria," SNC spokesman Khaled Saleh told AFP in
Istanbul. “Yesterday [Wednesday] he was actually meeting with
the Islamic Front.”

“General Idriss is still in contact with the FSA brigades
that are on the ground, he's still in contact with the Islamic
Front,” he added.

The Islamic Front is a coalition of the largest Islamist rebel
factions, excluding two top Al-Qaeda-associated groups, the Nusra
Front and the Islamic State of Iraq in Syria. It is considered
more moderate among Islamist militant groups.

On Friday, radical militants from the organization seized several
premises containing non-lethal aid from the US. The aid belonged
to the Supreme Military Council (SMC) of the Free Syrian Army at
the Bab al-Hawa crossing near the Turkish border, Reuters
reported.

The Islamists acting on their own accord gave no warnings and
provided no explanation for their actions.

“As a result of this situation, the United States has
suspended all further deliveries of non-lethal assistance into
northern Syria,” the US Embassy spokesman in Ankara said on
Wednesday, stressing that humanitarian aid distributed through
non-governmental organizations will not be impacted by the
decision.

The growing strength of the Islamic Front has led to direct talks
between the group and the US and its allies. Western officials
said the goal of the communication was to persuade Islamists to
support a Syria peace conference to take place in Geneva on Jan.
22.

As the Obama administration sorts through details of the takeover
of FSA bases, it is urging Gen. Idris to return to Syria, US
officials said.

Senior US officials said the warehouses seized by the Islamic
Front appeared to contain both lethal and non-lethal material. A
CIA spokesperson would not comment on whether American weapons,
possibly supplied by the CIA, were involved. Gen. Idris
reportedly receives weapons from other sources as well, such as
Saudi Arabia.

US officials said the Islamic Front offered to protect Gen.
Idris’ headquarters and the warehouse facilities from more
extreme groups. Once they secured the area, "they asserted
themselves and said: 'All right, we're taking over,"
according to a senior official.

The officials said there was no battle over the warehouses
between the Islamic Front and the SMC. One senior US official
called the seizure “an internal coup,” though other
officials disputed the characterization.
"I wouldn't say this is the end of the SMC and the end of Gen.
Idris," a senior US official told WSJ.

The Obama administration said earlier Wednesday that it would
like to work with the SMC, though the suspension of aid is
indefinite. How the takeover will affect relations with the
Islamic Front is still unclear.

The British government followed the US in suspending assistance
to the SMC to ensure it would not be acquired by more extreme
Islamist factions.

A White House spokesman said that US humanitarian assistance is
not affected by the suspension.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that while the US
remains supportive of the SMC, the halted aid will make
cooperation more challenging.